Children slashed in school knife attack

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A knife-wielding man forced his way into a primary school
classroom in north-east China today and attacked 12 young children,
slashing them in the head and back, officials and state media
said.

The man, whose identity is unknown, stormed into the Central
Primary School in Mingcheng township in Jilin province at 9.20am
local time and targeted a class of grade one pupils, mostly aged
around six or seven.

Of the injured, five were boys and seven girls. They were rushed
to hospital with four reported to be seriously hurt with head, ear
and back injuries.

"It happened around 9.20 this morning. A man aged about 30
entered the school but not through the front gate," an official
surnamed Fu at the Panshi city education committee said.

"He rushed into a classroom and used a kitchen knife and injured
12 students. He was caught by the teachers and then the police
arrived," he said.

There were 30 students in the class at the time.

"He was mentally ill," said Fu. "The local police are
investigating this case and have reported it to provincial
authorities."

Police confirmed a man had been detained.

Xinhua said the man had a history of mental problems and 10
years ago attacked someone with an axe.

China has been dogged by a series of attacks on schools this
year.

Last month a man stabbed eight teenagers to death as they slept
and injured four others after breaking into a school dormitory in
central Henan province.

In October a five-year-old boy and his teacher were killed at a
Beijing kindergarten by a man trying to steal. The boy's body was
found stuffed in a washing machine.

Other recent attacks include a man with a knife and homemade
bombs targeting 28 children in a kindergarten in east China's
Suzhou city. No one was killed.

The spate of violence against children prompted the government
to issue a nationwide plan aimed at improving security in schools
and kindergartens.

The plan, issued jointly by eight government departments,
requires that all schools carry out an overhaul of security and
examine the qualifications of staff, state media reported.